Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/268

 24G HISTORY OF GREECE. exclaimed, with feelings of bitter repentance, that the divine word never failed to come true at last, 1 and that Sparta was justly pun- ished for having wilfully shut her eyes to the distinct and merciful warning vouchsafed to her, about the mischiefs of a " lame reign."a Besides the crown, Agesilaus at the same time acquired the large property left by the late king Agis ; an acquisition which enabled him to display his generosity by transferring half of it at once to his maternal relatives, for the most part poor persons. 3 The popularity acquired by this step was still farther increased by his manner of conducting himself towards the ephors and senate. Between these magistrates and the kings, there was generally a bad understanding. The kings, not having lost the tradition of the plenary power once enjoyed by their ancestors, displayed as much haughty reserve as they dared, towards an authority now become essentially superior to then' own. But Agesilaus, not less from his own preestablished habits, than from anxiety to make up for the defects of his title, adopted a line of conduct studiously op- posite. He not only took pains to avoid collision with the ephors, but showed marked deference both to their orders and to their persons. He rose from his seat whenever they appeared ; he con- ciliated both ephors and senators by timely presents. 4 By such judicious proceeding, as well as by his exact observance of the laws and customs, 5 he was himself the greatest gainer. Combined with that ability and energy in which he was never deficient, it ensured to him more real power than had ever fallen to the lot of any king of Sparta ; power not merely over the military operations abroad 1 *I<5' olov, uv Ttaidef, irpoae/jii!-EV utyap Tt/c ira'haHpaTov irpovotaf, "Ov eTiOKev, etc. This is a splendid chorus of the Trachiniae of Sophokles (822) proclaim- ing their sentiments on the awful death of Herakles, in the tunic of Nessus, which has just been announced as about to happen. 'Ayqff'daof 6s TTJV flaffifaiav edo^e 3.a3eiv, OVTE ru Trpbf rot)f i^eo^f afitspir- rof, CVTE TU Trpdf avdpuTtovf, npivaf vodeiaf AeuTvx'tSijv, bv vibv aivov uire- Jetfev 6 ddeA^of yvrjaiov, rbv 6e xPVfUov KaTEipuvevffufisvof rbv trepl TTJ( (o^oT^rof. Again, ib. c. 2. di' ' Ayriai^aov ktreaKdrrjae Ttf> ^pr/a/up Avaav6po^ 3 Xen. Agesil. iv, 5 ; Plutarch, Ages. c. 4. 1 Plutarch, Agesil. c 4. Xen. Agesil. vii, 2.
 * Plutarch, Agesil. c. 30 ; Plutarch, Compar. Agesil. and Pomp. c. 1